Minnesota's 16th annual Ride for Kids® event raised $65,605 on a clear, sunny morning at East Century College in White Bear Lake.
The scenic police-escorted ride through Washington County followed the St. Croix River, a National Scenic Riverway, before returning for the Celebration of Life program.
The 350 participants included seven local brain tumor survivors, from Katelyn, 9, to PBTF scholarship recipient Jake, 18. However, the loss of star Kyle Tierney, who died in March, was felt keenly. His family attended in his memory, as did the families of the late Allana Creager and Will Vossen.
Dr. Chris Moertel, clinical director of the Brain Tumor Program at the University of Minnesota, said that support from motorcyclists is the key to finding the cure. "We all have to work together to solve this problem," he said. "If we can figure out why this happens, the next step is to figure out how to cure it."
Jerry and Linda Buchholz of Coon Rapids, Minn., were the top individual fundraisers with $5,740 in donations. The top club/chapter was MN Wings (Midwest) with $6,570. Customers of Moon Motorsports in Monticello raised $12,341 to make it the top motorcycle business. The grand prize, a new Honda motorcycle, went to Marilyn Elkie of St. Michael, Minn.
Thanks to all of the dedicated event volunteers and key task force members, including Denny Schouveller Sr., Mark and Jenelle Koch, and Dan and Maggie Larson, who worked so hard to make this day a success for the kids.
